Does anyone here work at Subway currently, or has anyone worked there in the past? I'm having a dispute about tipping at Subway...

I say that Subway is fast food and does not require a tip.

My girlfriend says that we should tip if we go there all the time and see the same people.

So... we've decided to put it to the experts here. I'll take opinions on tipping at Subway, but what I would rather get is the facts from someone who has worked there - How common is tipping? Is it something that the people that Subway expect as part of working there (like Pizza delivery or Barrista at Starbucks) or is it just a nice added bonus? What % of people tip?

Working in fast food before, I've never..... eeeeeeeeever received a tip outright. That might be because of me, but remember that a fast-food worker's salary is at least thrice a waiter/waitress', because fast-foodies don't get the tips.

In college, at an ice cream parlor I worked at, there was a tip jar, but that's the manager/owner's discretion.

The people at Subway aren't doing anything different than what people at McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc. are doing. I would figure by your girlfriend's logic, you ought to tip there too, if you visit all the time. But you would be the only one.

Originally posted by ges7184The people at Subway aren't doing anything different than what people at McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc. are doing. I would figure by your girlfriend's logic, you ought to tip there too, if you visit all the time. But you would be the only one.

Actually, it's harder at Subway, where workers have to actually put together the sandwich right there by hand rather than just flip over a batch of burgers every minute or so. Still to tip for that is silly, but it's not exactly easy work (relative to the field of food service, of course).

Here's an idea...Do it. Just to see the reaction you get. I bet they just look at you and maybe say "Uh, did you want chips too or something?"

I go to Quizno's myself (mmmm...toasty) and there's usually two people involved in the sandwich making process. Should I tip them both?

Just because I can't see him/her, if the guy on the assembly line in the back does a fine job of assembling my Famous Star at Carl's Jr and remembers not to put on tomato, shouldn't I toss a buck back there?

There's a chain called "Noodles & Company" who are basically a fast food place specializing in noodle dishes. You order at the counter, they bring out the food in real stoneware bowls with real silverware, and they bus the table afterward. And THEY don't accept tips (they even have cards on the tables that say "Tip Free Zone".) If I don't have to tip THEM, I am DAMN sure not tipping at Subway.

Now if you can find me a Subway where an attendant brings the sandwich to my table and periodically refills my soda, I'll start tipping.

I worked at Subway during my Sophmore and Junior year in high school.. so I'll tip the "Sandwich artist" if the manager isn't there if he/she makes a nice sammich.. because I know how much the job sucks. When I worked there, I took a cup and wrote "Tips accepted here" on it, with an arrow pointing toward the bottom of the cup. The owner threw a fit about it and made us throw the cup away so we just made a new one. I don't tip fast food places like Wendys or Mcdonalds because, like TheBucsFan said, you have to make the sandwich rather than just flip a patty every minute or so... and you also have to deal with people bitching because you put a little bit more mayo on the sandwich than they wanted.

I don't go to Subway but I do go to Dunkin Donuts on a daily basis, and I've noticed that some franchises have tip jars and some don't. I refuse to tip them for that reason alone. I don't have anything against the servers and they always take good care of me, but I don't think they deserve tips for selling me a cup of coffee each day.

I consider it the same thing as getting take-out from a restaurant. You would pay a tip for table or delivery service, but not for waiting at the counter to pick up your order.

I worked at Boston Market after I got out of high school as a server (A.K.A. "Food Scooper" or "Plate Filler-Upper") and I got tipped every once in awhile, mostly by old people, but we werent supposed to accept them. Yeah right.

I work at a movie theatre, and I get tips occationally when I work at the concession. I make popcorn, put it in the bag with occational spurts of butter, and give the person their drink. About two percent of my customers just say "Keep the change" whenever it's around $2-$4. Cool, eh?

Between that and the coin I find cleaning theatres ($15 a day is the most I've found)....I'm set.

I worked at Subway for a summer. I used to get tips all the time, usually because I worked the Subway that was on the way home from the bars (i.e. drunk patrons), I worked alone, and we had a two-fer-one footlongs after 9p.m. special.

Many people took pity on my ass and gave me change. I never made more than $50 in a night, but hey, that was like 8 more hours worth of pay...

I also think it had something to do with the fact that these people were coming home from bars where they'd probably tipped a buck a drink all night for watered down rum and cokes just to keep the flow coming. By the end of the night they're quite happy to shell out a buck or two for the guy who made their supper (and tomorrow's lunch).

As a former wage-slave food-service employee at a Pacific Coast seafood chain, we were allowed to take tips. Of course, we also had to take food out from the counter to each table, bus tables, etc, yet run people through the line at fast-food speed. I hated that job.

The only time I tip is if I'm waited on, meaning A) someone comes to my table to take my order, and B) someone brings my food to my table.

The only exceptions to this are delivery guys.

My wife and I are having the same debate over Sonic. They just opened a Sonic drive-in on my block, so I'm there all the time. At Sonic, you order via speaker and a carhop brings you your food. Apparently, I'm supposed to tip the carhop, even though they make minimum wage or higher, and not a tipping wage like waiters (which is, what, like $2.25/hr?). I disagree with that, and my wife gives me nasty looks while the carhop makes change.

She argued, "You tip the pizza guy, don't you?"

I replied, "The pizza guy has to buy gas and pay for insurance, not to mention the depreciation on his own vehicle." That quieted her for a couple of days.

Anyway, no way should you tip a sammich guy. It pisses me off when I see tip jobs in Subway and Baskin-Robbins. Tip you for scooping ice cream? Puh-leez.